Gyroscope.



I. P. HENNESSYv GIYRosCoPE, APPLICATION FILED DC-20\ 1915.

Patented Dec. 31, 198.

SMU-c n fof: @WW1/woo Sou@ 3391A JOHN PERCY HENNESSY, F

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.

. GYROSCOPE.

Application filed December To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I,`JoriN P. HENNEssY, ya citizen of the United States, residing at 9 Kay St., Newport, in the county of Newport and State 0f Rhode Island, have invented certain '.nevvV and useful Improvements in Gyroscopes, of which the following is a Specification.

l with 0r parallel to Yeration except by making The object of my invention is to obtain continuous operation of a gyroscope by purely mechanical means of driving the wheel without interfering in any way with its action as described below.

As is well known, the useful effect of a gyroscope, when it-forms part of an'automatic steering arrangement in a torpedo, aeroplane, or other machine or vehicle, depends on the tendency of the gyroscope wheel, while it is revolving about its axis in any one plane, to resist any effort to change the direction of its axis so as to cause it to revolve in a plane not coincident the plane in which it was first started to revolve.

Vhen the gyroscope wheel is mounted in gimbal rings and used in a steering arrangement, the action described above causes the relative4 motions 0f the gyroscope wheel and surrounding parts of they machine or vehicle in which it is used, to be of a very complex nature.

Owing to this latter fact and because it is essential to the; successful operation of the steering arrangement that the action of the wheel as described above should not be interfered with in any way; it has not heretofore .been found practicable to drive the gyroscope wheel vso aS to obtain continuous opthe gyroscope wheel the armature 0f an electric motor or using some equivalent arrangement in which electricity is the motive power.

lThe use of electricity is objectionable in many "cases, particularly where the machine or vehicle, steered by the gyroscope, is intended to carry explosives, as is the case in a torpedo.

I attain this obj ect by the mechanism illustrated in the Vaccompanying drawings in which: A

Figure 1 is a front view ofthe entire mechanism except the means of supplying power to the driving wheels. This is shown in Figui! which is a top view of the gyroscopa gimbal rings, and driving mecha- The .mechanism as shown and de- Ybearings carried by l estal forward.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 31, QS.,

2o, 1915,. serial No. 67,845.

scribed hereis 'intended and adapted primarily for use in a marine torpedo but all claims are intended to apply equally to the use of the driving mechanism as a whole or of any 0f the essential, combinations claimed by me, for. the purpose of'drving the gyroscope in an aerial torpedo; )aero-v plane or any machine or `vehicle whatever.

Similai-3 numbers refer tosimilar." parts throughout both views. 1 In the arrangement shown number l designates the gyroscope wheel, which runs in the inner gimbal ring 2, which swings on bearings 3 on the outer gimbal ring 4 which in turn swings on vertical bearings at its top and bottom.

The bearings 3 are made in an annular shape and intermediate wheel supports 5 are inserted .centrally inthe opening and fastened by suitable means to the inner gimbal ring. Bearings (-3, which carry the interme-i diate wheels I, are so constructed and assembled asto be allowed a small amount of movement to and from the gyroscope wheel in the direction of the horizontal' center line. y :The driving wheel 8 has its face made slightly concave in shape by cutting it on a 'radius It (Fig. 2) which is equal to the sum of the diameter of the intermediate wheel plus half .of the diameter of the gyroscope wheel. -It runs in bearings on the pedestal 9 which is arranged to slide back and forth a short distance on the swinging base 10. Said sliding is controlled by some suitable means such as that shown, in which 11 designates a catch which engages a pin 12. The catch is opened automatically by suitable means at the time of firing the torpedo. The spring 13 then pushes the ped- The piston rod 14 being fastened to the pedestal moves with it and pulls forward the piston 15 Iwhich moves in the oil cylinder 16. In the piston there is an orifice through which the oil flows as the piston moves. The length of time-required to move the pedestal is'determined-principally by the relation between .the strength of the spring, the quantity of oil in the cylinder and the size of the orifice.

The gyroscope complete with the mechanism which' is 'directly controlled by it, together with the driving mechanisrnis fastened on the swinging base 10 and all. necessary connections to made flexible so as to properly perform their several functions without .interfering 'wit the swing of the base. The swinging base is suspended by means such as the bearings 17 and bar ,18 shown. The bearings are so located that the axis of the driving wheel 8 is exactly horizontal when the base is at rest and free to swing. The base can be locked, so as to prevent its swinging, byy suitable means such as that shown in which 19 desigf nates a clutch which slides on the bar 18 and is kept from. turning by the keys 20.

The operationk of the invention is as fol-r lows t-When the torpedo is being prepared for iiringthe pedestal 9 is pushed back and locked.

The swinging baseis also locked in position so that the axes of the driving wheels are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the torpedo.' The gyroscope wheel is centered .by ordinary means, so that its aXis is in the same plane with and parallel to the axes of the driving wheels. When the torpedo is fired the shaft 21 is caused to revolve by power supplied from some convenient source.

, This drives the bevel gears 22 which in turn drive the wheels 8 by means of iieXible shafts 23; At the same time the gyroscope, is started by ordinary means, such as a sudden impulsefrom a spring, and the centering pin I `is withdrawn leaving the gyroscope wheel '30\ spinning freely. When the torpedo has completed its initial. plunging and has settled down to its vintended course,A the swinging base'is unlated sothat they will drive the gyroscope Wheel at approximately the same speed and in the same direction as it was started.

When the swinging base is released it acts as a pendulum, swinging in the direction of the longitudinal center line of the torpedo, and lthus maintains the outer'giinbal ring always in a vertical position. In this way the plunging of the torpedo does not affect the gyroscope and the motion of the gyroscope wheel relative to the base vand driving wheels is simplified.

As the torpedo swings slightly to the right andileft, traveling in a sinusoidal course, the wheels 7 swing back and forth across the faces of the wheels 8 and remain always in contact With them; Thus it will be seen that the motion of the gyroscope around the vertical' axis 0f the outer gimbal ring, which is the motion that governs the steering mechanism is not interfered'with since the frictional resist-ance offered to the movement of the wheels 7 across the faces of the driving wheels can be made so slight as to 'be negligible.. Moreover as the force is applied directly in line .with the center of the gyroscope it Ahas no moment about either the vertical axis, or the horizontalv aLXis through the bearings of the inner gimbal ring, and hence' has no tendency to tilt thegyroscope wheel from the plane in which it was started.

A similar result might be obtained by a somewhat dierent arrangement of parts and, therefore, I do not wish to limit myself to the specific construction shown and .described. Although the revoluble frames in which the gyroscope Wheel is mounted. have .been'refe'rred to in the specification and means for allowing-said wheel to move into l and out of contact with the gyroscope Wheel.

3. In a gyroscope,\ the combination with the gyroscope wheel, of a pair Aof gimbal rings in which the gyroscope wheel is mounted,`a power-transmitting .wheel adapted to contact with the gyroscope, wheel, a bearing forv said power-transmittiiig wheel, means for supporting said bearing, and means for attaching said support to one of the gimbal rings.

4'. In a gyioscope, the combination with the gyroscope wheel, of a wheel adapted to Contact therewith, a bearing for said wheel,

means for supporting said bearing, and means for driving Said iwheel.

5. In a gyroscope, the combination with' the gyroscopewheel, of a wheel adapted to contact therewith, a second wheel for driving said first-named wheel, and a movable -bearing support for said second wheel.

In a gyroscope, the combination With the `gyroscope wheel, of a gimbal ring in which the gyroscope avheel is mounted, said Vgimbal ring having an annular bearing, a 'power-transmitting wheel encircled by the bearing and adapted to drive the gyroscope wheel, and means for driving said powertransmitting wheel.

7. The combination with a gyroscope wheel and a,pair of gimbal rings in which the wheel is mounted, of a swinging base adapted to support the gyroscope wheel and its gimbal rings, and means for locking and releasing the base against swinging movements, v

claims as gimbal rings, it will be understood l maarre 8. The combination with a gyroscope wheel and a pair of its gimbalrings, and ting power to gyroscope wheel and means for transmitthe periphery of the gyroscope wheel to drive the same, said means beingatd least partly carried by the swinging base.

9. In a gyroscope, lhe combinationwith the gyroscope wheel, of means to drive the .same by peripheral engagement 10. 1n agyroscope, the gyroscope wheel, porting the same, and

therewith.

the combination with of gimbal `rings supmechanical means for driving the same by rictional engagement 'A therewith.

11. In a gyroscope,

l the gyroscope wheel,

or driving the same the combination with of mechanical means by frictional engagement with the periphery "of the gyroscope wheel.

1Q. In a gyroscope, the gyroscopewheel,

the combination with of'a gimbal ring in which the gyroscope wheel is' mounted, av

support for said gimbal ring,-

nular bearing serving and an anto mount said gimbal ring. in the support, said` annular bearing having a central opening, described.

13. Ina gyroscope, the gyroscope wheel, rings in which the for the purpose the combination withl of a pair of gimbal gyroscope wheel is mounted, and means for continuouslyV drivwheel positioned externally of said ginr ing the gyroscope wheel', said driving means externally of .the gymthe combination with of a pair of gimbal gyroscope wheel .is

driving means for the gyroscope bal rings, and means carried by one oi said gimbal rings to transmit power from said driving means to the gyroscope wheel'. I

15. in a gyrospe,

the. gyroscope wheel,

rings in' which they the combination with ci a pair of gimbal gyroscope wheel is means mounted, drivin'gmeans for the gyroscope wheel positioned externally ci said gimbal rings, the gyroscope wheel and the driving means being capable of changingtheir ans vs lgular relation and the driving means being operative for drivingthe gyroscope whee regardless of such angular changes.

16. The combination Witha gyroscope, ci? drivingv means therefor,.tl1egyroscope and driving means being.,'capa their angular relation and the driving means to its operative osition.

ble ofV changing for driving the gyroscope rel the combination with retarding movement 'oi the .driving means 18. The combination .with a gyroscopef oi 4,normally therefor, means for -renderm and means wheel,

lsaid driving means eective, or reptarding the operation means, for-'the purpose described.

19. The combination with a gyroscoper, lWheel, of normally inoperative 'driving means therefor, and means to driving means effective for transmitting rotation to the gyroscope wheel, said means being designed to delay transmission oi' rotation to the gyroscope wheel for a predetermned period.

20. The combination with a gyroscope wheel, of a pair of gimbal rings supporting the same, a swinging base on which said gmbal rings are mounted, and means for transmitting power to the periphery of the gyroscope wheel, said means being at least partly mounted on the top of the swinging base.

l l JGHN PERCY HENNESSY.

Witnesses: v

' FRANCIS L. CoNNoRs,

LEANDER H. SMITH.

inoperative driving of said last-named, 

